Jay & Silent Bob Debuts In Third

With AMERICAN PIE 2 staying a third week in the top spot, RUSH HOUR 2 held tight in second with JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK debuting in third. RUSH HOUR 2, with primary visual effects by Cinesite, took home another US$11.4 million, raising its cume to $183.3 million. JAY & SILENT BOB, with primary visual effects by Digital Research Lab, MetroLight Studios and Tigar Hare Studios, racked in $11.1 million, making it the highest opening for a film from director Kevin Smith. Slipping from third to finish in fifth, RAT RACE, with animated opening titles by Wild Brain, drummed up an additional $8.3 million, lifting its cume to $25.63 million. CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN fell from sixth to eighth with a gross of $3.88 million. The war romance film, with primary visual effects by Double Negative, has collected $13.96 million to date. JOHN CARPENTER'S GHOSTS OF MARS made its initial nod in ninth. The shot 'em up horror flick, with primary visual effects by Hunter Gratzner Industries Inc., O'Connor FX and ShadowCaster Inc., scared up $3.8 million. PLANET OF THE APES swung into tenth with a gross of $3.53 million. The simian saga, with primary visual effects by ILM, has secured $167.8 million thus far. Box office data was obtained on Yahoo.com.